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But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.
And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons; Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
- Mark 3:7-19a
In the previous reading, we read that it happened that Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests and also gave some to those who were with him?" And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. And when He had looked around them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. My study bible suggests that Jesus withdrew both because the Pharisees were planning to destroy Him (though it was not time for Him to die) and in order to preach in other places. What we can certainly see from today's reading is the ferocious popularity of His preaching. He's like a rock or film star in the sense of the popularity He experiences, that the people crush in so that even at the seacoast He must now have a small boat ready for Him in case the crowds should crush Him. Everybody wants to touch Him to experience the power of healing that comes from Him.
And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus at times disappearing in a crowd, and avoiding Jerusalem, doing things deliberately so as not to be understood as Messiah until the right time to disclose this fact. It's gradually revealed only to the inner circle and later to others, but His ministry must come full circle before it can be declared openly, especially before those in authority, with power in the institutions both religious and otherwise. My study bible says that Jesus' refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (in Isaiah 42:1-4). The reasons for secrecy include: (1) the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders; (2) the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and (3) our Lord's desire to invoke genuine faith not based solely on marvelous signs.
And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons; Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. Going up on a mountain is a sign that what is happening here is a special event, something given from God, a holy time. The appointment of the twelve is a revelation of the sharing of the Kingdom, via human beings. My study bible tells us that the terms disciples and apostles are often used interchangeably for the twelve. From the Greek, disciple means "learner" while apostle means "one sent out." Jesus gave them power - while He performed healings and miracles by His own power. The names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists; many people had more than one name.
The power of this revelation is truly inestimable. It gives us something to ponder that is truly reflective of a "mountaintop" experience: that of Jesus' power shared with human beings. It gives us a taste of how we were made for glory, to contain and to be filled with the power of Jesus' spirit, to manifest the holy via a synergistic work with God, with Christ, and with the Spirit. That is, through and with the power of God, human beings are uplifted into a place that tells us we are meant for so much more than the purely worldly perspective teaches us. While the authority here is clear, that all things come through Christ, nevertheless the sharing of His power is what He chooses to distribute. It is an enormous statement about the quality of human beings, that in God's light there are perhaps inestimable things for which we are created and of which we are capable, through the power of God and under God's authority. It is a synergy through which these men will become transformed into heroic figures of tremendous sacrifice and dedication -- and this moment is one of those times that reflect Jesus' statement that "with God all things are possible." The exemplification of holiness begins here, with the distribution of the power of God given to human beings whom He calls to Himself. The dedication to this calling and to God's authority becomes more and more complete, over all things within a person, and all the choices made, and that is also via the power of God. Each one of us is a called on a similar journey if we are ready and willing for it, and every journey that is complete as possible will also call on us for some sorts of sacrifice. It all depends on where He takes us, what He shares with us, and how His transforming power must be at work in us, discarding the things we might cling to that aren't fitting "vessels" (like the wineskins) for the power and love of God. To be transformed, as these men will be, is to be taken on a great journey as disciples, continual learners. That never stops. When it does, we may find ourselves in the territory of the betrayer, who is always included in these lists of the twelve. Let us remember we are always called to be present to the Teacher, no matter who we are, what we have done, or where we've gone before. A depth of prayer, especially in the fullness of offering all of ourselves to God, even to ask forgiveness, is the true route to that work.
But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. My study bible suggests that Jesus withdrew both because the Pharisees were planning to destroy Him (though it was not time for Him to die) and in order to preach in other places. What we can certainly see from today's reading is the ferocious popularity of His preaching. He's like a rock or film star in the sense of the popularity He experiences, that the people crush in so that even at the seacoast He must now have a small boat ready for Him in case the crowds should crush Him. Everybody wants to touch Him to experience the power of healing that comes from Him.
And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus at times disappearing in a crowd, and avoiding Jerusalem, doing things deliberately so as not to be understood as Messiah until the right time to disclose this fact. It's gradually revealed only to the inner circle and later to others, but His ministry must come full circle before it can be declared openly, especially before those in authority, with power in the institutions both religious and otherwise. My study bible says that Jesus' refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (in Isaiah 42:1-4). The reasons for secrecy include: (1) the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders; (2) the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and (3) our Lord's desire to invoke genuine faith not based solely on marvelous signs.
And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons; Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. Going up on a mountain is a sign that what is happening here is a special event, something given from God, a holy time. The appointment of the twelve is a revelation of the sharing of the Kingdom, via human beings. My study bible tells us that the terms disciples and apostles are often used interchangeably for the twelve. From the Greek, disciple means "learner" while apostle means "one sent out." Jesus gave them power - while He performed healings and miracles by His own power. The names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists; many people had more than one name.
The power of this revelation is truly inestimable. It gives us something to ponder that is truly reflective of a "mountaintop" experience: that of Jesus' power shared with human beings. It gives us a taste of how we were made for glory, to contain and to be filled with the power of Jesus' spirit, to manifest the holy via a synergistic work with God, with Christ, and with the Spirit. That is, through and with the power of God, human beings are uplifted into a place that tells us we are meant for so much more than the purely worldly perspective teaches us. While the authority here is clear, that all things come through Christ, nevertheless the sharing of His power is what He chooses to distribute. It is an enormous statement about the quality of human beings, that in God's light there are perhaps inestimable things for which we are created and of which we are capable, through the power of God and under God's authority. It is a synergy through which these men will become transformed into heroic figures of tremendous sacrifice and dedication -- and this moment is one of those times that reflect Jesus' statement that "with God all things are possible." The exemplification of holiness begins here, with the distribution of the power of God given to human beings whom He calls to Himself. The dedication to this calling and to God's authority becomes more and more complete, over all things within a person, and all the choices made, and that is also via the power of God. Each one of us is a called on a similar journey if we are ready and willing for it, and every journey that is complete as possible will also call on us for some sorts of sacrifice. It all depends on where He takes us, what He shares with us, and how His transforming power must be at work in us, discarding the things we might cling to that aren't fitting "vessels" (like the wineskins) for the power and love of God. To be transformed, as these men will be, is to be taken on a great journey as disciples, continual learners. That never stops. When it does, we may find ourselves in the territory of the betrayer, who is always included in these lists of the twelve. Let us remember we are always called to be present to the Teacher, no matter who we are, what we have done, or where we've gone before. A depth of prayer, especially in the fullness of offering all of ourselves to God, even to ask forgiveness, is the true route to that work.
